Making Space For Horses
According to data collected by the EQUUS Foundation, there is some additional capacity in the equine safety net for at risk and unwanted horses. But it will take funding and other support from the equestrian world to make the most of that capacity — an investment that the EQUUS Foundation says is well worth making.
by Glenye Cain Oakford
Conventional wisdom says equine adoption and retraining groups, rescue organizations, and similar nonprofit facilities can only offer limited capacity, potentially leaving many other horses at risk if they are no longer wanted or needed. However, Karin Bump, Ph.D., who has been analyzing data collected from organizations in the EQUUS Foundation’s Equine Welfare Network, has found that some actually do have enough space for additional horses. To take advantage of that capacity, they need additional resources — most notably in the form of funding, but also volunteer staff and in-kind donations — to ensure good care for additional horses. Those are challenges that the equestrian community can meet, the EQUUS Foundation’s founder and president, Lynn Coakley said, and meeting those challenges will benefit both horses and humans.
“What is unique about the EQUUS Foundation is that we are an animal welfare charity focused 100% on equine welfare, but we not only provide support to equine charities that are directly involved with the rescue, rehab, rehoming and retirement of equines that have been subjected to abuse and neglect, and are at risk,” Coakley said. “We also provide support to equine charities that are increasing opportunities for more horses to engage, inspire, and empower people — especially people with special needs. The solutions are within our reach to ensure that all horses naturally transition from one chapter to the next without risk of abuse, and neglect and that all horses involved in any role and in any capacity — as athletes, companions, laborers, teachers, and healers — are safe, healthy, and treated with dignity as partners, but the solutions depend on the voluntary support of horse lovers nationwide.”
Bump’s analysis involved the detailed information that 129 facilities provided to the EQUUS Foundation. Those 129 facilities, including equine-assisted service organizations as well as equine rescue and retirement programs, are located throughout the nation and collectively care for 3,907 horses and ponies. With support from the equestrian industry, donors, and volunteers, some have room to care for even more.
“What we see based on our information is that these 129 facilities often do have room to take more horses,” said Bump, a longtime professor of equine studies and business management. “But we don’t want to just warehouse horses, right? We want them cared for, so even when they have the space, they may have a limited ability to care for the horses appropriately, in terms of the finances needed to care for that horse. That is still a question.”
Building Sustainable Futures
The equestrian community and the horse-loving public can help answer the resource question through fundraising and other support to maintain a safety net for at-risk horses. To attract sustainable support, rescue and rehoming organizations need to offer transparency and show trustworthiness, in terms of both financial responsibility and equine husbandry.
The EQUUS Foundation helps achieve both, through direct grants and through the careful questioning and rigorous standards it requires for organizations participating in the foundation’s Equine Welfare Network, Guardian, and Mentor programs.
Once an organization is approved for Equine Welfare Network membership, it can attain the Guardian and then Mentor designations by meeting additional requirements. That process prompts candidate operations to assess and improve business practices, step up their equine care best practices, and increase transparency.
“They dig in and don’t just look superficially at these organizations,” Bump said of the EQUUS Foundation. “They really want to know that these groups are operating in good ways, so when people donate and the EQUUS Foundation gives grants, they can have high confidence that the funds will be well utilized, because the groups have been vetted strongly. These are operations that know what they’re doing, have active boards, and have sustainability factors — all of those things are in place.”
The EQUUS Foundation also focuses on specific care practices for member organizations, said the foundation’s program director, Tim Williams.
“When we talk about the welfare standards we're talking about questions like the organization’s intake process, biosecurity, quarantine, and euthanasia,” Williams said. “How are you dealing with training? What are your rehoming agreements after a horse no longer fits the needs of your program? How long are the horses in the stalls and how long are they out?”
“Going through this process, these operations — especially the smaller ones — gain a more thorough understanding of financial management, why a board is important, and more,” Coakley continued. “We’ve had organizations write to us and say, ‘I learned a whole lot more than I thought I would by going through this process.’”
The EQUUS Foundation also offers resources, such as a free webinar series for Guardian program applicants, all with the aim of helping operations become financially sustainable, transparent, and up to date on best practices in equine care.
“Many people have come back to us and said they learned more from our webinars than in five business classes,” Williams said. “So that webinar series does exactly what we want it to: give them the support to help develop the stability to last.”
Coakley added, "Our end goal is for the donating public to be able to rely on our Equine Welfare Network organizations as trustworthy, sustainable organizations."
How Can You Contribute?
Financial donations are critical to any program’s success, both for immediate needs like feed and hay, but also for long-term stability through things like hiring staff.
“I think donors need to be more educated about the importance of professional staff in charities,” Coakley said. “So many times I’ve heard donors say, ‘I don’t want my donation to go to paying somebody’s salary,’ but, well, who is doing the mucking out or handling regular fundraising?”
Even if those services are being performed by a valuable volunteer workforce, that might require professional management, too.
Volunteers provide essential services, can help free up staff time for other pressing matters, and can make the difference between a program’s ability to bring in additional horses or ponies.
“I don't think people really understand that volunteers in this sense are keeping these places going,” Bump said. “It's not just a feel-good thing. If we want these places to be able to survive and function, the volunteers are basically doing a job that helps that happen.”
In-kind donations are also valuable. When you donate your newsletter-writing, accounting, or grooming and tack-cleaning skills or drop off several halters, lead ropes, or buckets, you’re not only providing a good or service — you’re also freeing up resources that otherwise would have gone to secure those. Similarly, when feed, pharmaceutical, and other equine-related businesses donate products, “it’s not just a nice thing; it’s an essential part of sustaining that business model,”
Bump said. “In a way, that reliance can be scary, but on the flip side, it’s so essential that people understand that doing these things can really make a difference.”
Social License Implications
Maintaining a robust, sustainable network of retirement and second-career opportunities for horses isn’t only good for horses and the people who love them. It’s also good for the equestrian world as a whole, Bump and Coakley said.
“Those outside the horse industry often view the industry as made up of wealthy people using horses for sport and entertainment,” Bump said. “There is little understanding that a solid percentage of horse owners are middle- to low-income. The importance of soft places to lands, safety nets, and transition programs are essential parts of an industry that cares — an industry that garners positive social views for its existence. Self-funding through donations, contributions, and volunteer time signals an industry that cares and wants to do the right things."
Equestrian sports’ social license to operate, the EQUUS Foundation and others say, is contingent in large part on the safety of the equine athletes, and that means protecting them not only during their competitive careers, but after they’re no longer competitive, too.